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Ceiling on private hospital charges: Health Minister to hold more talks with stakeholders
The proposed ceiling on rates charged by private hospitals was discussed at length by Minister Rajitha Senaratne and high-level medical specialists, including surgeons and physicians, on Friday evening, the Sunday Times learns. The proposal refers to the maximum charges that private hospitals can levy on in-patient and out-patient procedures, including surgeries.
Friday’s two-hour discussion was “cordial”, a source said, adding that the minister had assured them that further talks would be held before the implementation of the ceiling on charges. Top doctors representing the Independent Medical Specialists’ Association (IMSA) and the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) had participated in the discussions.
“We pointed out to the minister and his team that when deciding on the maximum charges to be imposed on open surgeries and laparoscopic (minimally-invasive) procedures, the main stakeholders, who were the surgeons and physicians, had not been consulted,” the source explained.
The minister, in turn, had told them that the proposed maximum charges had been discussed at length with the Private Health Services Regulatory Council (PHSRC) chaired by Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe and comprising representatives of the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes.
There had been no objections from the representatives of the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes, the minister had said.
This had been countered by the IMSA and the AMS officials by underlining the fact that the PHSRC had no physicians and surgeons, the “main players” when performing procedures and surgeries.
They had also stressed that there were no “uncomplicated” surgeries or procedures, as the need for a surgery or a laparoscopic intervention in itself indicated that there was a complication.
According to the source, the IMSA and AMS representatives had said they did understand the Health Minister’s concern over rising medical bills which were burdening the private hospital patients.
They conceded that “a rare few” of the physicians and surgeons, as the Minister had pointed out, were charging exorbitant rates unfairly from patients in the private sector. This is why a maximum charge had to be imposed.
While the IMSA and the AMS were in agreement that a maximum charge ceiling would help patients, their contention was that they should be consulted when deciding on the rates, as they were performing those procedures and surgeries. The Health Services DG, Dr. Jasinghe, also took part in Friday’s discussion.
A maximum charge is also to be clamped on blood tests, X-rays, cardiac tests, endoscopies, urine tests and much more, it is learnt.
Meanwhile, citing an example from cricket, the source told the Sunday Times that bringing about a maximum charge on any surgery or procedure without consulting the surgeons and the physicians was like taking a major decision on cricket, bypassing the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.